Kingussie Withdraw Helmets Proposal | |
22 November 2014 Kingussie have withdrawn their proposal for a phased introduction of mandatory shinty helmets which was due to go before members at the Camanachd Association AGM at the end of the month.
The Kingussie Proposal The Badenoch club’s proposal would have meant that as of the 2015 season ‘All players born on or after 1 January 1997 must wear a helmet and faceguard in all grades of shinty’. This means that all players currently playing their last season of U17 shinty will be required to carry on wearing helmets with faceguards in senior shinty. Kingussie have asked voting members to consider the following points before coming to a final decision:
However Aberdour objected to the proposal, making their reason’s known to the Camanachd Association. This lead to Kingussie withdrawing their proposal. Kingussie Statement In February 2014 Kingussie Camanachd Club wrote to The Camanachd Association to propose an amendment to the current rules regarding the wearing of helmets and faceguards for players when playing Shinty. The amendment proposed was that as of the 2015 season all players born on or after 1 January 1997 must wear a helmet and faceguard in all grades of Shinty. This would have had the effect of a phased introduction of helmets and faceguards for all players in the sport at little or no financial cost to clubs as the players affected would already have helmets with faceguards. These players will also have always worn head and face protection their whole careers and so it would have no impact on their skill levels or ability. This would also have allowed older players, who had never been used to wearing helmets, to play out their careers with that option. This proposal was to be voted on as a special resolution at The Camanachd Association AGM on 28 November 2014. On 30 October 2014, the Camanachd Association informed Kingussie that Aberdour Shinty Club had asked that the Kingussie proposal be withdrawn as they believed ‘it may possibly be in breach of current legislation with regard to age discrimination and equality of opportunity/access’. Kingussie contacted Sportscotland for advice on this and received a reply from law firm Harper Macleod with their opinion on 13 November 2014. The last paragraph of their opinion is below; ‘A rule that requires persons under a certain age to wear certain protective wear to participate, where that will steadily capture more young players (e.g. if based on one fixed date of birth) is very unlikely to be lawful and will be capable of successful challenge against the association and individual clubs. It would be direct age discrimination. The rule may struggle to meet any legitimate social policy aim and/or otherwise be justified so as to be found to be lawful.’ The full opinion from Harper Macleod is available from The Camanachd Association. Kingussie Camanachd Club would like to make it categorically clear it is opposed to the blanket introduction of helmets and faceguards for all shinty players and is disappointed that the phased introduction appears to be in breach of current legislation. After discussion Kingussie have decided not to seek another legal opinion as the club has not the time, money or inclination to pursue this matter any further. Kingussie Camanachd Club has today (Friday 14 November 2014) asked the Camanachd Association to withdraw the special resolution from the forthcoming AGM and will also withdraw from any further debate on this matter. KCC would like to thank all other shinty clubs and individuals who have contacted us to register their support for this initiative.
Aberdour then issued a statement to clarify their position. Aberdour Statement With regard to Kingussie Camanachd Club’s withdrawn proposal on the wearing of helmets, Aberdour Shinty Club would like to offer all clubs and players some clarification as to the reasons for its objections to the KCC proposals. To this end, the full content of ASCs email (sent on 30 October 2014) to the Camanachd Association is as follows:
The Camanachd Association then issued the following statement: Camanachd Association Statement Following legal clarification provided by Harper MacLeod, Kingussie Camanachd Club have today withdrawn their Special Resolution regarding the phased introduction of safety helmets at senior level from the Agenda for the forthcoming Camanachd Association AGM. This action is in response to earlier concerns raised by Members that the Resolution, if approved, could result in discrimination amongst senior players on the basis of age that contravenes current legislation. The advice received from Harper Macleod supports that view. |